Heart of Stone - Book 1: Fighting Fate

Throbbing pain in her head and neck pulled Aubree from the realm of unconsciousness. Bright light broke through the cracks of her eyelids and she grimaced.

Why did her head hurt so much?

“Aubree?”

She heard a voice, one she hadn’t heard for a while and she squeezed her eyes shut, willing it to go away. She tried to turn over, but a hand pressed her shoulder back down.

Groaning, she blinked until her eyes came into focus.

Gwen stood over her with another woman and a man dressed in a white lab coat, checking her pulse with her left wrist as he stared at his watch, counting.

Aubree swallowed, wanting to open her mouth and speak, but Gwen’s eyes widened and she quickly shushed her.

“Your glands are all swollen from the attack. The doctor doesn’t want you to try speaking until the swelling goes down,” Gwen explained.

Fear gripped Aubree as her memories came flooding back over her. The man standing in front of the car, illuminated by the headlights. His glowing red eyes and hideous sneer. His hands around her neck. Squeezing.

When the doctor released her wrist, both of her hands instinctively reached for her throat. It hurt to touch, even though she barely grazed it with her fingertips.

"What happened?" she mouthed, hoping that someone would be able to tell her.

“A lunatic attacked you,” Gwen said. “He strangled you until you fell unconscious and tried to kidnap you.”

She knew that but what happened after that? How did she wind up here? Where was she?

Looking around her, she noticed the bed next to her was empty. Panic began to fill her as she asked, ”Where’s Dan?"

All she got were stares in response. That made her heart rate spike even higher.

“Stop stressing the girl out,” the doctor growled.

“Right,” Gwen said, pulling up a chair to the edge of the bed and sitting down. “Say it again?”

Aubree mouthed the words again, her heart filled with dread.

Gwen’s nose scrunched up. “Are you asking where your boyfriend is?”

Aubree nodded.

When Gwen didn’t look relieved, that didn’t help to lower Aubree’s heart rate. Instead, Gwen turned to the woman next to her, who seemed to have no idea either.

Oh god! Where’s Dan?

She struggled to breathe. Dan’s unconscious face filled her mind.

Where could he be? Was he okay?

A man walked in then—a huge, burly, hairy man that reminded her of a Viking—and he spread his arms out wide. His voice boomed in the small room and everything felt more cramped with his presence.

“Welcome, my dear,” he said in a loud, boisterous voice. There was a hint of an accent, but she couldn’t place where it was from. “I hope you are feeling better. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask. I’m Vincent.”

Under normal circumstances, she would have looked Vincent up and down like he was some weirdo who stepped out of a sci-fi or fantasy convention, but she was too consumed by worry to notice the powerful vibes she got from him.

"Where am I? Where’s Dan?" Aubree asked.

Her heart fell when Vincent’s smile faltered. “Dan who?”

“Her boyfriend,” Gwen uttered in a low voice to him.

“Oh, the man in the car wreck?” Vincent asked. He waved his hand in the air like it was irrelevant. “A good Samaritan called an ambulance. I heard he was taken to Eau Claire Hospital. Has a concussion, if I recall, but he’s going to be alright.”

Aubree breathed a sigh of relief. But if she wasn’t at Eau Claire Hospital too, then where was she? She repeated her question and a proud gleam shone in Vincent’s dark brown eyes.

“Why, the Ciardaig Clinic.”

She just stared at him. Where was that? She’d never heard of it before in her life.

“It’s a small village, more like a family compound,” he said. “I don’t think thirty residents would even be considered a village.”

As he laughed, Aubree watched Gwen shift uncomfortably in her seat. Her brown eyes looked up to the woman standing next to her.

Another man entered then. He was shorter than Vincent by about half a foot and less bulky, but he still had an impressive amount of muscle and way less hair so she could actually see his facial features.

He had a strong jawline and nose that made her think of Stone. His hair was cropped short and was light brown-dark blond in color with a light dusting of facial hair covering his chin and cheeks. His blue-green eyes swept over Aubree before pausing on the woman standing next to Gwen and nodded his head at her.

“Well, it’s good to see that you’re awake,” Vincent said, drawing Aubree’s attention back to him. “Please excuse me as I have some business to attend to.”

With that, he stepped out of the room, which was beginning to feel very cramped with everyone in it. The doctor, likewise, excused himself and said he would return later to check up on her.

The woman shot the doctor a hard glare as he left. Getting to her feet, she stepped into what must have been a private bathroom. “Doesn’t even give her a cold compress,” she grumbled under her breath.

“That’s Carl for you,” the man said as the sound of running water splashed against a porcelain sink from the bathroom.

He sat down on the empty bed next to Aubree, his eyes falling on her and making her look away. Something about him unsettled her, but it wasn’t as strong a feeling like the one she got from Vincent. What was up with that guy? It was like he was from a different world.

Gwen turned her attention back to Aubree, her eyes looking worried. “Sorry about this. I’ll explain everything later when the doctor says it’s okay for you to speak. Until then, I’d like to introduce you to a distant cousin of ours, Hector, and his wife, Rosemary.”

“Just call me Rose,” the woman said as the water turned off and she hurried back into the room. She came around to Aubree’s side and gently placed the folded cloth around her neck. “This should help with the pain and swelling. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“I’ll say,” Gwen murmured, digging her nails into her thighs. “I’m still grappling with the fact that some lunatic would run out in front of your car, causing the car to roll off the road, strangle you until you were almost dead, and then try to kidnap you? Like, what the hell?”

“Don’t worry,” Hector said, his deep voice thrummed in his throat as Rose sat next to him on the bed. “He was caught and brought to justice. You don’t have to worry about him ever again.”

“And Dan’s in Eau Claire Hospital receiving better care than you are here,” Gwen added, as if reminding Aubree would make her feel better.

Aubree swallowed with some difficulty. The swelling in her throat hurt like she’d gotten strep. Goosebumps broke out all over her body as the cold cloth against her sensitive skin made her shiver.

Before she could even mention feeling cold, Rose disappeared outside the room and returned with a wool blanket to put over the white sheet that was draped on her.

She looked about the room. The walls were an off white color. A large window was next to her, but it was too high up for her to see anything but the gray sky. The bed next to her was identical to hers and stood closer to the door.

She couldn’t help but wonder why Gwen was there with her. Of all people to meet her in a clinic in the middle of nowhere, why Gwen? And why did they keep her instead of sending her somewhere else?

She wanted to ask these bubbling questions, but the doctor’s orders to not speak forced her to hold her tongue. She didn’t know how well they’d be able to read her lips and carry on a conversation.

Heaving a sigh, she knew she’d have to wait before she could get some answers.

An awkward silence fell. Gwen lowered her gaze to the floor, chewing on her bottom lip.

When Stone walked in, Aubree’s heart skipped a beat and her breath hitched in her throat.

Of course, he’d be there. If Gwen was there, why wouldn’t he be there as well?

She knew she shouldn’t be surprised, but she wasn’t ready to see him, to face him. Especially not now, covered in bruises and unable to talk.

Unable to read his expression, as he diverted his gaze from hers, she noticed that his fists were clenched at his sides.

“May I have a moment alone with Aubree?” His voice was low and controlled. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with difficulty.

“Of course,” Hector said, rising to his feet with Rose by his side.

Gwen followed the couple out, sending Stone a quick glance that Aubree didn’t get a chance to read because she couldn’t tear her eyes off her hands twisting the wool blanket over her.

He’d found her. Caught her lying. There would be no chance of her escaping him now. Worst of all, she was completely incapable of defending herself.

Still, guilt nagged at her for lying and at the same time, her heart began to race at the sight of him again.

She wanted to say something to him, but knew she couldn’t and didn’t know what to say to him anyway. Sorry for lying? It was hardly her fault that she got attacked when she tried to come back, so she could hardly feel bad about that.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she didn’t know what Stone wanted to say to her, but she bet it was going to piss her off. He always pissed her off. She got strangled last night for Christ’s sake! Whatever he wanted to say, she prepared herself for it.

He stood at the foot of her bed. When he didn’t say anything, Aubree slowly raised her eyes to look up at his face.

He wasn’t looking at her. His jaw was clenched and Aubree wondered what he was feeling behind his controlled exterior. Was he angry? Angry that she lied to him?

Why wouldn’t he look at her?

Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him.

His eyes flicked toward her before retreating again, and even then, his gaze didn’t meet hers.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, catching her off guard.

Her eyes grew large and she wasn’t sure if she’d heard him right.

Sorry about what? What did he have to be sorry about? It wasn’t his fault that she got attacked. Could he really feel guilty about that?

He hesitated and she saw him come around to her bedside quickly. Grasping her cheeks between the palms of his hands, he pressed his lips to hers. Unable to stop herself, she gave into the sensation and desire that bubbled up from her core.

Her breath hitched in her throat, snapping her out of the daydream, as Stone turned on his heel at the foot of her bed and marched out of the room without another word.

Realizing that the kiss was merely a fantasy, she closed her eyes and sank deeper into her pillow and pulled the blanket over her head.

What was she going to do now?